Boston City Councilor Ayanna Pressley has not decided how she will vote on the November referendum on legalized recreational marijuana, but Wednesday, she pressed city officials to begin thinking about ways to equitably implement the measure, should it pass.
At the weekly council meeting, Pressley filed a hearing order to discuss strategies that would give historically disadvantaged people, including nonwhites, women, and low-income residents, priority in marijuana licensing. As she puts it, these are the same people who were disproportionately hurt by punitive jail sentences that criminalized the drug, so these people should be the first to make money from its legalization.
We are finally addressing, culturally, socially, and through policy reform, the impacts of the War on Drugs, Pressley said at the meeting. Righting these wrongs can happen through collective will and intentional legislation.
The council remains split on the ballot question. The City Council president, Michelle Wu, supports recreational marijuana legalization, as does Roxbury City Councilor Tito Jackson. Other city officials, like Boston Mayor Martin J. Walsh and Councilor Frank Baker, who represents portions of Roxbury, the South End, and South Boston, oppose legalizing the drug.
Even with that opposition, Baker said he supports Pressleys measure because he believes it is good, proactive governance.
This is good work here. We need to make sure the discussion comes through this hall because this would be in our neighborhoods, Baker said. If it comes, and its all just made legal fast, we run the risk of being flooded in our neighborhoods.
The hearing has not been scheduled but was sent to the council committee on Jobs, Wages, and Workforce development. According to recent poll released by WBUR, a majority of Bay State residents supported legalizing recreational marijuana.
News Moderator: Katelyn Baker
Full Article: City Council Preps For Marijuana Legalization If It Happens
Author: Astead W. Herndon
Contact: 1-888-694-5623
Photo Credit: Aram Boghosian
Website: The Boston Globe
